Garbage truck and driver that struck and killed elderly historian had multiple violations

The driver and the garbage truck involved in the death of San Germán historian José Vélez de Jardin had multiple violations, officials said.

By The Star Staff

Transportation and Other Public Services Bureau agent Armando Franco said Wednesday that a garbage truck — which was owned by convicted businessman Oscar Santamaría Torres and is in the process of being transferred — struck and killed the well-known 87-year-old historian José Vélez de Jardin in San Germán at 7 a.m. Wednesday.

The driver and the truck had multiple violations.

“The first thing we found when we arrived was that the driver has a ‘heavy’ [vehicle] license, but he does not have the license of the truck driving bureau, which is called the TC (Cargo Transport) license,” Franco said in an interview with CyberNews. “Second, the authorization has private boards, when you have to have an HP board [Public Board] to be able to hire and put into service that truck under the authorization that truck has to have.”

“For example, TCRB, which [regulates] garbage collection, has to have up-to-date authorization and all the change processes, if they bought that franchise, you have to have it all up to date with the bureau. You have to have the policy up to date with the VIN number of that truck. You can have a policy, but if you don’t have the truck under the VIN number for that policy, then you don’t have a policy,” the official continued, noting several other violations.

All of the alleged violations totaled $3,500 in fines for the driver and truck.

“Now I make the report, I deliver it to the Bureau, to the [company] president, and then they summon him and then the lawyers will say what the next fines will be,” Franco said.

Vélez de Jardin was the official historian of the Municipality of San Germán.